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Author Notes: This is decadent. It is a helluva lot of work. It is also the single most dramatically delicious recipe I know how to make, and if I am having a dinner party on which depends my next job or a major contract, this is what I'm making. I'm serving it with a lovely stir-fry of something green, like snow peas or asparagus, and some gently roasted plum tomatos, and copious quantities of Santa Margherita Pinot Grigio, and chocolate pots de creme for dessert, and when everyone leaves, I will have a nervous breakdown. But before they leave, their eyes will roll back in their heads and they will sigh in ecstasy, because this? Is just wonderful. (You have no photo because I haven't made this in four or five years, and I'm not ambitious enough to make it this week.) ((Nods to Emeril Lagasse, whose Coquille St. Jacques recipe forms much of the base for this.) —Kayb

Serves 6

6ounces lump crabmeat, picked over

8ounces freshest possible scallops

1pound Gulf shrimp

1 lemon, sliced

1 small onion, diced

1 bay leaf

1cup dry white wine

1cup water

3tablespoons unsalted butter

2tablespoons minced shallot

2 cloves garlic, minced

6ounces white mushrooms, caps only, wiped clean

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/2cup milk

1teaspoon fresh lemon juice

1/2teaspoon salt

1/4teaspoon ground white pepper

1 pinch cayenne

2tablespoons minced fresh tarragon

1/4cup sliced scallions, white and light green parts only

1/2cup heavy cream

1cup shredded Gruyere or Emmenthaler

1/2cup bread crumbs

1tablespoon melted butter

1pound fresh lasagna noodles

8ounces ricotta cheese

1/2cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

3tablespoons minced parsley

Steam crabmeat (or have it steamed for you) and allow to cool.

Blend crabmeat with ricotta cheese and tarragon, and set aside.

Put scallops, wine, water, onion, lemon and bay leaf in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Poach scallops just until firm, about 3 minutes. Remove scallops from poaching liquid, and set aside.

Add shrimp to poaching water in same saucepan. Poach until just turning opaque. Remove from water and set aside to cool.Strain and reserve poaching liquid; discard lemon and bay leaf.

In a clean saucepan, melt 2 tbsp butter and saute shallots and garlic over medium heat until translucent. Slice mushrooms and add. Cook, stirring, until mushrooms are tender, about four minutes. Remove from pan.

Add remaning butter to same pan and melt. Stir in flour and cook, stirring or whisking constantly, until flour smells nutty; do NOT let it start to brown.

Slowly add reserved poaching liquid, whisking constantly, and cook until starting to thicken. Add milk, lemon juice, salt, pepper and cayenne and bring to a bare boil. Add parsley and green onions, and cook for a minute or two. Add 1/2 of grated Gruyere or Emmenthaler, and remove from heat, stirring to melt cheese. Stir in heavy cream, and keep sauce warm.

Cook pasta. Working quickly, brush the bottom of a buttered 9 x 13 casserole with a bit of the sauce, and lay down a layer of noodles. Top with ricotta/crab mixture, half the remaining Gruyere/Emmenthaler, and 1/3 of sauce.

Add a second layer of noodles. Cover with chopped shrimp and scallops, another 1/3 of the grated cheese, and 1/3 of the sauce.

Add a final layer of noodles, and top with the remainign granted cheese. Spread sauce over.

Mix grated Parm and bread crumbs and top casserole. Bake at 450 for a scant 10 minutes, and finish off in broiler, if need be, to give the top a nice golden brown finish. Let rest for no more than 10 minutes before serving.

Note: I have prevailed on a pasta-making friend to make me special lasagna noodles for this, and cut them to fit my 9 x 13 dish. I then boil them one sheet at a time in a big roaster placed across two burners.